The Kingis Quair

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Most likely written by James I of Scotland, The Kingis Quair is a long poem in Middle Scots that is roughly a romance in genre. It is semi-autobiographical in nature, beginning with the King's capture by the English in 1406 on his way to France and his subsequent imprisonment by Henry IV of England in Windsor Castle. While there, the narrator of the poem spies a lady in a garden and falls madly in love with her. Based on puns in the poem, the lady is believed to be Joan Beaufort, who later became his queen and the mother of James II of Scotland.

From there, the poem takes an allegorical turn, with its narrator turning from the lady to Boethius and his philosophical work Consolation of Philosophy. The narrator, influenced by Boethius, falls asleep and dreams he is carried to the heavens for an audience with Venus, who sends him to Minerva who then sends him to Fortuna, the goddess with whom Boethius must come to grips in his earlier work. The King climbs on Fortune's wheel and then wakes up. He sees a turtle dove and takes it as a sign that Fortune will fulfill his love for the lady. He then goes on to thank his inspirations, which he names as Chaucer and Gower and commends their souls to heaven.

The poem is largely based on both The Consolation of Philosophy and the French Roman de la Rose which James certainly would have been familiar with. The Kingis Quair is one of the first poems to use the rhyme scheme "rhyme royal" - ABABBCC. It probably received its name from this royal usage, and would later be used by other Makars, notably Robert Henryson.